The Outlook for Recovery From a Gunshot Wound to the Brain

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The tragic January 8, 2011, shooting in Tucson left six dead and 14 wounded, among them Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who suffered a gunshot wound to the left side of her head.

When it comes to gunshot wounds to the brain, no two situations are alike. Generally, a bullet that passes through both the left and right hemispheres of the brain will cause more damage than a bullet that’s path is confined to one side of the brain. The situation is similar to that of a twin-engine plane that has lost one engine versus one that has blown both. Additionally, the chance of survival and positive recovery is greater if the bullet has not injured deep brain structures such as the brain stem and thalamus. These portions of the brain are crucial to basic body functions, including processing and relaying sensory information, and regulating heartbeat and breathing.

The left side of the brain controls vision, language, and the ability to move the right side of the body, among other things. People with traumatic brain injury to the left hemisphere may have difficulty reading, speaking, and understanding speech. The right side of the brain is responsible for spatial perception and movement of the left side of the body. Injury to the right brain hemisphere may result in difficulties determining spatial relationships (for example, how far away an object is or how fast it’s moving). But each patient and injury is unique, and the extent of recovery depends on many factors.

It is possible to resume a near-normal life after surviving a gunshot wound to the head. Destroyed brain cells will not re-grow, but some cells that may have been shocked – but did not die – will try to take over the functions lost by neighboring destroyed cells and make new neural connections. Stem cells in the brain can also regenerate some tissue. I’ve had patients who have been shot in the head and, after several months of recovery, were able to eventually return to work and life with minor disruption. But I must emphasize again that every gunshot patient is unique.

I, along with the rest of the country, am keeping my hopes high for the congresswoman’s successful recovery.